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Audio Transfered As Data?!

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chiara.feli

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sorry, I'm new about MDs...hope I wont sound heretic!

Well, this is what I would like to do: record a live concert with an MD and a proper mic (I just bought a ECM 907).

Then I would like to transfer the lot into a pc but not in real time. Rather as data streaming...maybe with a USB?

I other words I would like to leave the sound card of my pc out of the way...

Is this possible at all?!

Could anyone suggest me a few models of MD that might do teh job (possibly at reasonable price)?

I am particularly disoriented by the fact that some Sonys seem to be able to transfer music from pc to Md but not viceversa!!

Is it possible to overcome this problem....how?! and with all the models?!

thanks very much!

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This is what Hi-MD is for. There are only four Hi-MD recorders at the moment. All the other MD recorders, including NetMD and the previous generations, do not upload.

The Hi-MD recorders are:

Sony NH-700, NHF-800 (same as NHF-700 with FM-radio remote), NH-900 and NH-1. (The NH-600 is a player for downloaded music). Look at the equipment browser for complete info.

Install Sony's Sonic Stage 2.3 (from Sony website or under Software here) and Wav Converter on your computer. Previous versions of SonicStage, to get very technical about it, suck.

Make the live recording. Connect via USB. Upload with Sonic Stage (use AC power so your battery doesn't run out partway through the upload). Convert the uploaded files to Wav with Wav Converter. Burn a CD from the Wav files. Savor the euphoria.

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Prices in Europe are ridiculous! You should look into ordering one from the US from www.soundprofessionals.com or www.minidisco.com and having it shipped overseas.

Also, since new Hi-MDs are promised for in April, you might wait until then. Prices may drop on first-generation Hi-MDs.

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Install Sony's Sonic Stage 2.3 (from Sony website or under Software here) and Wav Converter on your computer. Previous versions of SonicStage, to get very technical about it, suck.

Make the live recording. Connect via USB. Upload with Sonic Stage (use AC power so your battery doesn't run out partway through the upload). Convert the uploaded files to Wav with Wav Converter. Burn a CD from the Wav files. Savor the euphoria.

OK, I've just followed your advice and I hope it will work for me. I just installed Sonic Stage 2.3. The v2.1 that came with my mini-disc would not even install at all, it would just stop halfway during the process.

Anyway, I did a test with a disc and it uploaded the file just fine. The only thing is, where do I get Wav Converter?

säki ph34r.gif

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None, otto. Welcome to the forums, btw.

What's your maximum budget?

thanks!

Well, I just spent about $90 on a mic...I think around $150 would be still reasonable to get an MD.

I've been looking at the NH700 and the NH900.

I noticed that the 700 doesn't have a line in but just a mic in....

does that make much difference? can you still record from a line source using the mic in plug?

do you know of any other appreciable difference between the two models?!

thanks

otto

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Anyway, I did a test with a disc and it uploaded the file just fine.  The only thing is, where do I get Wav Converter?

säki  ph34r.gif

http://sonyelectronics.sonystyle.com/walkmanmc/wav.html

Scroll down for the download link.

And Otto, the NH700 does have a line-in that accepts optical or analog conections. Look at the equipment browser on this site.

The 900 has some extra frills. It has a digital amp for the output, which some people like better and some people find brittle; it doesn't affect the recording input. It also has a fancier remote. But I don't think it's worth it because the NH900 also takes a rechargeable gumstick battery.

The NH700 takes a regular AA battery, so that if your battery runs out it's a lot easier to replace, and it's barely thicker than the NH900. I actually like the slight battery bulge because it tells you which side is up if you've got the unit in the dark or in a pocket.

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Hrm, not the most accurate summation of the NH900 - reminds me of a mudthrowing political debacle, a NH700 user on one side and a NH900 user in the other. wink.gif

The NH900 actually can support two batteries at the same time - the gumstick battery is the main, but it also facilitates an AA battery add-on pack for even more battery life. The remote that comes with the NH900 is LCD [and backlit], whereas the NH700's is a stick remote with no LCD at all.

More information on the NH900: http://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-NH900.html

..and the NH700: http://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MZ-NH700.html

Additionally, the *.wav converter from Sony is nice, but why don't you give this a read first: http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=6330

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i have to say i've allways preferred gumstick units, infact i've never owned a AA powered md unit.

1/ formfactor.

2/ longer batt life. you can add the AA adapter to it & get a massive boost to the life.

3/ other features reflecting the gumsticks premium edge. ie. the hd amp, line out, better remotes.

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if you are using a fully powered USB port you shouldn't need your AC adaptor or even a battey in the unit.

At a concert? blink.gif

Kurisu, I know you love your 900, but if the whole point of the gumstick is to make the unit more compact, then the add-on battery pack is a little....well....dorky. I can record a 1GB 90-min PCM show without a battery change in my NHF-800.

And until they make a remote with Record and Track buttons, my interest is meager.

More mud!!!

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Guys thanks to all of you very much for your advice!

last w.e. I finaly bought a NH700.

I'm quite happy now :-)

yes, it is abit bulky...I hadn't seen a real one before and in the pictures available on the net they all look much slimmer!! no pic actually shows the battery vane!

Anyway, no big deal for me!!

the battery took forever to charge...dunno why...

I find particularly unpleasant that it denys some functions (such as recording) saying that there isn't enough battery....but it's still got plenty of battery for playing and doing other things!!

This means that I have to spend a life time do discharge the battery before I start charging it again!

a part from this the first recording experiment was really exciting!!!

fantastic quality!!!( I'm using a sony mic ECM 907). I now have some serious big bad recording with very little fiddlig at all!

The uploading also worked ok!

The sonicstage is really bad! (lets not swear!)

It's very good if you want to buy music from the sony website but its shit for all the rest!

First, not user friendly at all!!! second I would like to upload and convert into a different format (MP3 or wav)...but it seems like it doesn't do it!

Do I necessarily have to burn a f... CD?!!!!

I had to install another software called "wav conversion"....

And to convert in MP3 I used "HIMDrender"...

is there any easy way around this?!!

To complete the bad points, sonicstage is taking forever to convert my MP3 before it puts them into the MD...

All I'm doing is transferig a CD full of MP3s into the MD...but is seems to take forever!

Any way around this?!

Finally...it refused to convert and transfer one of the files because of proprietary rights................this really gets me furious!!!!!!!

To conclude the HIMD is a really nice little toy biggrin.gif I'm really satisfied...

but the software is a pain....any suggestion to get around it?!

thanks

otto

PS: I believe I'm using the last verion of sonicstage 2.3....

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The NH-700 is barely bulkier than the NH-900. In the old NetMDs, there was a big difference in thickness; in Hi-MD, there isn't.

Although it can be done, it's a waste of time to charge the battery in the unit. The good thing about the NH-700 is that it takes a regular off-the-shelf AA battery. You'll get better battery life with disposable alkalines (Duracell, Energizer, even no-names), and if you really want to stick with rechargeables, get one of the new little Energizer wall chargers with 2500 MaH batteries.

The reason the unit is not letting you record below a certain battery level is that it needs battery power to save the recording once you've made it. It doesn't save the recording until you hit the Stop button, and if it doesn't think it will have enough power to write the recording to the disc, then it won't start. Saves some heartache in the end.

There's no way around Sonic Stage at the moment, except for one of your uses: Once you have uploaded a recording into My Library with Sonic Stage, you can save a step by using HiMDRenderer instead of Wav Converter to convert it directly into the format of your choice: mp3, ogg, flac, etc. It is nice to have a .wav copy for the highest fidelity, and you can make that either with Wav Converter or HiMDRenderer.

Sonic Stage isn't just transferring MDs from your CD to your MD. It's turning them into ATRAC, the only format the MD plays. That's why it's so #@%#@ slow. There are hopes, yet to be justified by reality, that the next generation of Hi-MD will simply transfer the mp3s directly via the USB and play them. But whether that will affect current Hi-MDs, and whether Sony will indeed loosen the digital-rights restrictions at all, remains to be seen.

About the proprietary mp3, you might try using dbpoweramp (www.dbpoweramp.com ) to convert it to a high-bitrate (above 192) mp3--don't use variable rate--and then see if you can send it to the MD. No guarantees. In general, dbpoweramp is a good (free) all-purpose converter .

By the way, if you have a European NH-700, look at the thread about taking off the volume restriction.

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=8157

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